Two IMPD officers found not guilty in south side bar beating

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Michael Reiger (left) and John Serban (right)

Two IMPD officers found not guilty in south side bar beating

Michael Reiger (left) and John Serban (right)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A jury found two Indianapolis Metropolitan police officers not guilty in connection with the beating of a man at a south side bar.

Michael Reiger and John Serban faced battery charges for the 2014 incident, which was caught on camera. Jurors found them not guilty on all counts after deliberating this week. The trial started Monday with jury selection and testimony.

The officers were involved in a dispute between a bartender and customer at Mikie’s Pub on Emerson Avenue. The customer, Bradford Bohanon, said he was choked and lost consciousness during the dispute.

Serban showed Bohanon his badge, who tossed it aside. Serban then put Bohanon in a chokehold. Reiger kicked Bohanon while he was on the ground both inside and outside the bar.

Bohanon, an Air Force veteran, said the officers knocked him out because they were angry that he questioned their authority and contended the officers broke the law when they attacked him.

Lawyers for the officers said they were acting in self-defense to get an unruly customer under control.